Sinovel Wind Group Co. (601558.SH) Tuesday confirmed it is closing four international subsidiaries, the latest in a string of problems that have hit the company, one of China's largest wind turbine manufacturers.
Sinovel Wind Group Co. (601558.SH) Tuesday confirmed it is closing four
international subsidiaries, the latest in a string of problems that have hit
the company, one of
China
's
largest wind turbine manufacturers.
In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday, Sinovel said it would
shut its units in the
U.S.
,
Belgium
,
Italy
and
Canada
. It
is unclear how large these units are, and the company's website did not give
details.
Sinovel had begun in late April to shut down subsidiaries deemed to be
"not in accordance with development strategy or lacked development
potential," spokeswoman Wang Wen said in a statement Tuesday.
Ms. Wang said the closures have nothing to do with the company's ongoing legal
problems in the U.S.
Late last month, the U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges against
Sinovel and two senior executives at the company, in the latest twist in a corporate-espionage
dispute that has simmered for years. The indictment against Sinovel included
charges of trade-secret theft, criminal copyright infringement and wire fraud.
The
U.S.
alleges that Sinovel stole source codes for software used to control wind
turbines from AMSC, a Massachusetts-based engineering firm, and then shipped
four turbines equipped with the allegedly pirated code to customers in the
U.S.
A
lawyer representing Sinovel has declined to comment on the case.
Until 2011, when it abruptly stopped taking deliveries of AMSC gear, Sinovel
was the
U.S.
firm's largest customer. The
U.S.
charges escalated a business dispute and potentially aggravate bilateral ties.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, while in his capacity as the senior senator
from
Massachusetts
last
year, called the AMSC-Sinovel dispute "a mugging in broad daylight and a
real test of
China
's
commitment to the rule of law."
AMSC is pursuing four separate civil actions in Chinese courts related to the
allegedly stolen software.
The slowing global economy has weighed
China
's
ambitions to dominate the global wind and solar-power industries. The country
is mired in a trade dispute with the European Union over solar-power equipment
exports. The EU is seeking higher tariffs against these exports, triggering a
retaliatory Chinese antidumping probe into wine imports from the EU last month.
In 2012, the US imposed anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar
companies, and followed this by slapping anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese wind
tower suppliers.
Chinese solar-panel producers are already facing tough economic conditions, as
a cyclical downturn has hammered demand and pushed
China
's
Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP) into bankruptcy proceedings. Suntech, the
largest supplier of solar panels in 2011, has blamed part of its financial
losses, facility closures and layoffs on antidumping and antisubsidy tariffs
that went into effect last year in the
U.S.
,
levied on Chinese-made solar cells.
Sinovel has also fared poorly amid the slowing domestic market and overcapacity
in the sector. In April, it announced a 58% plunge in revenue last year
compared to 2011, swinging to a net loss of 582 million yuan ($92 million)
compared to a net profit of 598 million yuan a year earlier.
In May, the company came under investigation by the China Securities Regulatory
Commission over suspected violations of securities laws and regulations,
state-run Xinhua news agency said. The CSRC's
Beijing
bureau said in April that some of Sinovel's financial data was inaccurate,
including inflated profit disclosures the company reported for 2011, Xinhua
said. The company has said it would work with the commission, the industry's
state-backed watchdog, in the probe.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01